


C. arabica

by SailorSol



Category: Firefly
Genre: Coffee, Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Female Characters, Female Friendship, Female Protagonist, Female-Centric, Gen, POV Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-14
Updated: 2014-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-15 17:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1313281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorSol/pseuds/SailorSol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inara treats Kaylee and Zoe to a rare delicacy from Earth-That-Was. Kaylee's not so sure it's her cup of tea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	C. arabica

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katmarajade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katmarajade/gifts).



“What is it?” Kaylee asked, peering at the dark liquid Inara had poured into each of their cups.

“They called it black gold, on Earth-That-Was,” Inara replied, smiling that half-smile of hers that Kaylee envied. “Scientists thought it was gone for good, left behind or all used up, but they found some on a backwater planet.”

Zoe was giving the liquid a skeptical look. “Smells kinda funny. People actually drank this stuff?”

“Some people preferred it to tea,” Inara said. She took a dainty sip, her eyes fluttering shut for just a moment, the way Kaylee did when eating strawberries. “I find it to be a pleasing treat.”

Kaylee picked up the mug—not one of the dainty tea cups Inara kept on her shuttle, but one of the mugs from the kitchen that they usually filled with broth when they had the water to spare for soup. She agreed with Zoe; the drink smelled funny, kind of bitter and almost nutty. She looked towards Zoe, who was still looking at her own mug like maybe it contained a grenade (Kaylee didn’t dare say that out loud, dreading a story about grenades in mugs from her time in the war). “Y’think Simon’s had this stuff before?”

Inara laughed. Anyone else would have made Kaylee feel bad, but Inara was good at making it sound like she didn’t think Kaylee was just a silly girl. “Probably. It’s very popular among doctors in the Core. There’s a cheap synthesized version that I know they favor.”

Kaylee frowned. There were so many things Simon was used to that Kaylee just had no idea about. He coulda had any girl in the ‘verse that he wanted, a proper lady who knew all the right things to say and do and didn’t have engine grease under her fingernails and oil stains on her coveralls. If she wanted to stand even half a chance, she had to try to be more like one of them fancy girls. Zoe and Inara were both watching as she took the smallest sip she could.

And tried her best to not spit it out across the table.

“Good?” Inara asked. She was making fun of Kaylee, she could tell. Zoe, too, was trying not to laugh and failing. Kaylee forced the sip down and put on her best smile.

“I kinda like it.”

This time neither older woman bothered to hide their laughs. But Inara at least looked somewhat apologetic. “They used to add cream and sugar to their coffee to make it taste better. But perhaps this will help, mei-mei,” Inara said, pulling out a bottle of home brew Kaylee had made especially for the companion.

“Now that’s something I can get behind,” Zoe said, taking the bottle to pour a generous helping into both her own cup and Kaylee’s. “Inara?” she offered.

“No, thank you. I’d rather not waste good home brew.” And there, again, was the teasing. But when Kaylee took a sip of her alcohol-laden coffee, she didn’t feel as inclined to be upset at Inara.

“Give it a little kick, and it ain’t too bad, after all.”

* * *


End file.
